


A Touch

by Raven_Ehtar



Category: Star Trek RPF
Genre: M/M, Man From U.N.C.L.E. - Freeform, Shatnoy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-21
Updated: 2013-01-21
Packaged: 2017-11-26 07:59:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/648327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raven_Ehtar/pseuds/Raven_Ehtar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Their first meeting was brief - fleeting - but it would nonetheless set the tone for their entire relationship a few years down the road.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Touch

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired from watching Bill and Leonard 'meet' for the first time on Man From U.N.C.L.E., just seeing how much in those few seconds their whole relationship could be seen. And they say they don't even remember this.

It was a small part for the rising young actor. A small part, but it was a speaking role and it was on a popular show, he was far from being displeased with it. Rising in Hollywood was by no means a sure thing, and small steps were much to be preferred over none at all. An appearance on a show where he got to speak, even if it was only one episode could lead to larger parts down the road, and he was going to put in as much charm as he possibly could to catch the eye of those higher ups that could make his career. 

It wasn’t a complex part, and in this scene even less so: a party goer who was somewhat the worse for drink, flirting with a young lady under the eyes of his wife and generally making an ass of himself until one of the other characters steered him out the door and on his way home. While being so escorted he and his designated walker would run into another character, speak with him briefly and drunkenly and then continue to be steered out of the room and out of shot. One, two, three, easy as pie and that’s a wrap.

The scene itself was fun enough to play in. He got to act well and truly soused, spouting off what would sound to a drunkard like deep poetry, and flirt outrageously with a pretty girl. Bill Shatner considered himself to be a leading man no matter the role, so this last detail appealed greatly. Flirting was one of his particular fortes, and he was known to practice the skill on unsuspecting colleagues of both sexes whenever the occasion arose. It was both practical and vastly entertaining. During the rehearsals for the scene he had hammed it up and worked to make his fellow actors chuckle, then gotten down to business and played it straight, with remarkably little difference. One of the actors, the one he was meant to chat to very briefly before finally being dragged off, wasn’t able to make the run through of the scene for whatever reason – a dental appointment, he thought – but it hardly mattered. It was such a simple scene that anyone but an absolute greenhorn could get through it without having to practice.

Then it came time to film the scene. It was pretty standard for there to be very little time between getting the script and having to film, but it was still disorientating. He got into his suit, grabbed his glass of cheap stuff made to look expensive and slipped into the character of a carefree lush. All simple and easy as could be, he said his lines as he circled a statue, was berated by the actress meant to be his wife and then was taken by the elbow and navigated toward the door. Next came the only unknown element of the scene, slight as it was; the actor he had not had the opportunity of practicing with during rehearsals.

He came onto the set quickly, his step sure and self-contained, Bill would have attributed it to an older man, but he was quite young, very near his own age. He had an angular, smooth cheeked face, with incredibly deep brown eyes and thin lips. When he spoke his voice was deep and arrested the attention of the listener.

It arrested Bill’s attention, and he was glad his next lines had to be aimed at this new man. Without considering the instinct before acting on it, he put his arm around the newcomer’s shoulders – God, he was tall! – and leaned in close, his false drunken slur giving his lines an edge of suggestiveness they were not originally meant to have. It was the most natural thing in the world to continue his flirtatious behavior from before with this fresh face. What made it even better was his ‘victim’ wasn’t expecting it at all. It wasn’t scripted and he’d never hinted to anyone that he would do something of the kind.

He was surprised, that much Bill knew immediately from the tiny jump and the tensing of his shoulders. He also grinned, revealing rows of very straight, very white teeth, and he chuckled in good humored bafflement. As Bill leaned in just a little more he was also – was he _really?_ – blushing, his narrow cheeks darkening slightly. 

Oh, _God_.

He was _blushing_. That was precious, it really was. 

If he read this guy right, he was about as straight laced as they came, but seemed friendly enough, tolerant of high spirits if not prone to them himself. He would be a great chum to play pranks on, and Bill wanted to see how flustered he could get this very neat person, see how far he could push before he pushed back, and what form retaliations might take. But more than anything, he realized as he was taken away by his fellow actor, he wanted to see just how flushed and flustered he could make the austere man. 

It was a shame that both of their roles on the show were transitory. There was no reason for them to work together again, as this was their only scene together. It was a shame, he’d seemed like a good source of entertainment, and oddly adorable. It really was a shame to walk away from that without exploring it further. 

Though in this business, who knew? They might meet again, and if Lady Luck were kind, they might get a laugh or two in before having to part ways again. He just felt sorry for now that he hadn’t even gotten the man’s name.

**Author's Note:**

> I've never actually watched Man From U.N.C.L.E., so anything really wrong with it is due to ignorance and spotty research. :P Thank you for reading, everyone!


End file.
